News

Conservation grants announced

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is awarding $20.5 million for 45 projects to develop and advance the conservation of natural resources. The projects include habitat for pollinators, increased access to greenhouse gas markets and making farms more resilient to climate change.

Among the grants:

$760,000 to Iowa State University to develop and stimulate innovative approaches to monarch butterfly conservation in Midwest corn and soybean-growing areas.

$361,000 to Minnesota Food Association to transfer proven conservation technologies used in organic production to historically underserved producers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In addition to assist those producers in addressing land tenure issues and access to NRCS programs.

$399,000 to Regents of the University of Minnesota to demonstrate how farmers can apply inter-seeded cover crop planting and management technologies to reduce nitrate nitrogen losses in corn in the upper Midwest.

$960,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund to create the first large-scale pilot project generating greenhouse gas credits from nutrient management practices on corn and almond farms.

$498,000 to The Nature Conservancy to demonstrate the potential of carbon markets as a viable financial instrument by enrolling 50,000 acres of rangeland in North and South Dakota in a carbon offset program.

Funding for the grants comes from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program as established in the 2014 Farm Bill. At least 50 percent of the total cost of a project must come from non-federal matching funds.

A complete list of the grant recipients is available here:

 

We have a link to a complete list and description of the grant recipients at Brownfield Ag News dot com.